Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

Yes, The Wife and I were part of a record-breaking Hollywood weekend. Like so many other movie-goers, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest this weekend. We went because we liked the first one, because I like movies with lots of action, and The Wife thinks that Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are the two sexiest men in Hollywood and having them together in one movie is irresistible.

The movie itself is not a deep meditation on the subtle complexities of the human soul and its eternal struggle with the competing demands of morality and survival. No, not so much. It's pretty much a pirate movie with some silly supernatural villians and sea monsters thrown into the mix. There are some nice touches, though: the good guys are really good, the bad guys are really bad, and the movie pays nice homage to all sorts of classic adventure movies, particularly pirate movies, from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

True to the the spirit of Captain Blood, our heroes fight, and deceive, and fight, and double-cross, and fight some more, in a variety of gorgeous sets and locations, with thrilling choreography and action. The banter is silly but not quite over the top; Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow remains one of the most interesting characters yet devised in that actor's remarkable career, and as far as I am concerned, the movie more than delivers on its promises of good action, family-friendly but winking-at-the-adults comedy, and slick, high-production-value entertainment. Its cliffhanger ending, while somewhat predictible, nicely sets up the stage for what is sure to be next year's big summer hit, Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.

The Wife seemed disappointed, though, and I can't figure out why. There was ship-to-ship combat, swordplay, plenty of shots of her handsome favorites, resolute and clever trickery from the winsome Kiera Knightley, magic, double-crosses -- everything you wanted in this movie. I was certainly happy with it; while its screenwriter may not be winning any Oscars for this effort, the movie overall was worth the price of admission.